In thinking about reforms that are needed in policing in this city and state ("We 'can't breathe' either," Dec. 4), it occurred to me that the exclusion of police (and firemen) from Social Security is arguably a serious injustice. Their pension systems seem chronically imperiled, and as far as I can make out they give less protection than Social Security. A brief look suggests that the law on this subject is arcane, developed by accretion.
Ideally, I think Congress ought to change federal law to clear away all this complexity and ensure coverage for everybody (including some other excluded classes of workers). Meanwhile, I think that whatever can be done at the state or local level ought to be undertaken to ensure that workers who do risk their lives in public service have at least as good protection as is afforded by Social Security. While we are calling for changes in police training and practices, we must also call for fairness in the way we treat police.
Katharine W. Rylaarsdam